


Summer of Farewells

by Supreme_Thunder



Category: Free!
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-17
Updated: 2014-08-17
Packaged: 2018-02-13 12:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2150469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supreme_Thunder/pseuds/Supreme_Thunder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I ended up writing some Makosou fluff based on Aoi Teshima’s “Summer of Farewells” which plays at the end of “From Up on Poppy Hill”. It’s based on the theory that Sousuke’s shoulder is injured and he cannot swim with Rin anymore. He runs into Makoto, and they get to know each other a little bit. </p><p>The one-shot incorporates the English translation of the song's lyrics. I highly recommend listening to it, and also watching "From Up on Poppy Hill".</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summer of Farewells

Lately, Sousuke Yamazaki finds himself wandering the streets of Iwatobi on his own more and more. He has agitated his shoulder injury by participating in the relay with Rin, and the pain is so bad he can’t let anyone see his face contorted with its intensity. So he goes off on his own, missing practices, refusing to answer questions.

This morning, he finds himself walking along the shops by the harbour front- the alienating, noisy bustle of life on one side, the quiet glimmering ocean spreading its vast arms to him on the other.

**_Across the shining sea a ship disappears in the sunlight_ **   
**_Its horn trails a note of farewell_**   
**_If I walk down that gentle slope_**   
**_Will I feel a breeze the color of summer?_**

He knows it will soon be time to confess the reality of his situation to Rin, to give up his scholarship to the university in Tokyo they are both supposed to attend together. Fortunately for Sousuke, he is a good student, and knows he can easily get into any university he wants based on his academic skills alone. But if he cannot swim with Rin, he refuses to attend the same university as him. He cannot bear to sit on the sidelines, watching Haru and Rin swim together, make plans together…

That was supposed to be his and Rin’s life.

He is beginning to understand that what Rin feels for Haru is more than friendship, and that he cannot give Rin what Haru can. It’s a bitter realization, leaving him cold and more alone than ever before.

Lost in thought, he walks past a small shop selling jewellery and other gift items, past the tall green-eyed boy browsing around distractedly.

“Yamazaki-san?”

Startled to hear his name pronounced in a soft voice, a voice he cannot place at all, Sousuke turns around, curious.

The smile that greets him is so pure, so earnest that he feels himself drowning in its depths. But the eyes, their green lustre dimmed by an unknown sorrow, do not reflect the same joy lighting up the boy’s slender, tanned face.

“Uh…you’re um…Rin’s friend? From Iwatobi?”

“Yeah, hey. I’m Makoto. Makoto Tachibana. I’m the captain of the Iwatobi swim team. I’ve seen you at competitions. You won the relay against us, remember?” Makoto is clearly disheartened that despite beating his team only a week ago, Sousuke cannot place him.

“Ah, yes. You’re the one who’s always with Nanase.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess I am.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to insult you or anything. I’m just not the most attentive person. Especially nowadays…”

For a few seconds, there is an awkward silence between them. But then Makoto starts smiling again, and Sousuke feels himself relax, starting to wonder why he opened up like that to someone whose name he didn’t really know until a minute ago.

**_My love is a melody_ **   
**_I sing it high and low_**   
**_My love is a seagull_**   
**_That soars and swoops_**   
**_If I call out to you at twilight_**   
**_Will I see you there, my sweet?_**

“Don’t mind me, um, Tachibana. I just, I don’t know what I’m saying half the time.” Sousuke feels the taut muscles in his face relax, feels his lips form a small smile, directing it towards Makoto’s eyes.

“No, no. Don’t worry, I’m used to this, thanks to Haru.”

“No, really, Tachibana. I should have remembered you. You were great at the relay, really.”

Makoto’s face falls when he hears this.

“You really don’t remember me, huh? I wasn’t great, Yamazaki-san. I’m the reason my team lost.”

“Oh crap. I’m sorry. I can’t seem to say anything right today. I’m sorry, I’ll be on my way. Let’s pretend this didn’t happen. Deal?”

 “We could do that. Or, you could help me with something?”

“What could I help you with?” Sousuke’s curiosity gets the better of him, even though he feels like he should withdraw. But this boy…Sousuke feels himself enraptured by him.

“Help me pick something out for Rin. I’m buying everyone farewell presents. You know, because we’re all going to graduate soon.” There is a note of wistful sadness in Makoto’s voice that feels out of place. Sousuke wants this smile to be untainted by anything but the purest happiness.

“Oh, yeah. Sure. What are you getting them?”

“Nothing big, you know. I thought these bracelets would be nice? I mean, you can’t not like a nice bracelet, right?”

“Yeah. I suppose.” Sousuke finds himself smiling back at Makoto.

“So I’ve already picked out these ones for Haru, Ai-chan, and Nagisa, but I still have to get something for Rei, and Rin, and Gou, and Momo-chan, and uh, you, of course.” Makoto rattles on a little nervously, clutching 3 bracelets made out of leather, with a dark blue, yellow and silver bead in each, along with small charms for luck.

“Me? Why would you get me anything? I didn’t even know your name until today…” Sousuke feels himself gripped by an unwarranted feeling of warmth for this boy.

“Oh, because you’re Rin’s friend. And I didn’t want to leave anyone out, I guess. I mean it wouldn’t be very nice if I got everyone else something, and didn’t have anything for you.”

“You did leave someone out, though.” Sousuke feels his smile deepening, reaching his heart.

“I did?” The confusion on Makoto’s face is so genuine, so sweet that Sousuke has an inexplicable urge to pat him like he would a kitten, to kiss him on the forehead and calm him.

“Yeah. What about you? You didn’t get yourself anything. Here, let’s see. How about this one? It’s got a jade bead, I think this’ll suit you.” Sousuke rummages through the box and whips out the first thing that reminds him of Makoto’s eyes.

“Oh. Yeah, it’s nice.”

“What? You don’t like it? No worries. Here, how about this one? This has jade too, but it’s nicer I think?”

“This is nicer, yes. You have good taste, Yamazaki-san.”

Makoto’s smile makes Sousuke feel stupidly pleased with himself.

“Here, let me put it on your wrist so you can see how it looks.” Before he has time to stop himself, to remind himself that he barely knows this boy, Sousuke is reaching for Makoto’s wrist, fastening the bracelet around it.

He looks up smiling to see a faint blush creeping up from Makoto’s cheeks all the way to his ears. His smile widens at this sight.

“It’s very nice, Yamazaki-san. Thanks.”

Makoto is overwhelmed by this unwarranted attention being showered on him by this tall, brooding, teal-eyed boy he barely knows. Something inside him, dormant for so long, begins to open up like a flower in spring.

**_Swaying branches along the path_ **   
**_Leave farewell shadows on the ground_**   
**_A weather vane rooster, an old chapel_**   
**_Will I see a city steeped in summer hues?_**

****

“Well, I’ll get it for you then. It’s only fair since you’re getting me something too.” Sousuke takes out his wallet and pays for the bracelet before Makoto can say anything. His blush deepens and he looks at Sousuke with wonder and surprise.

They spend the rest of the afternoon picking out more things for their friends, along with a black leather bracelet adorned with a bluish-green bead, which Makoto insists on buying Sousuke. Afterwards, he offers to get them some ice cream to thank Sousuke for his help.

“There’s not need to thank me, Makoto. Can I call you Makoto?”

“Yes, of course. But only if I can call you Sousuke-kun.” Makoto laughs lightly.

Hearing his name uttered so intimately, so sweetly, Sousuke cannot help but feel his heart lighten. Having ice cream by the beach, Sousuke and Makoto share their burdens with each other. To his surprise, Sousuke finds himself telling Makoto about his shoulder, about his crushed hopes for the future. The concern he sees in Makoto’s eyes for himself melts Sousuke right to his core.

“Why are your eyes so sad, Makoto? You’re always smiling, but I don’t think you’re happy…” He finds himself worrying about this boy, this angel in human form.

Instead of shying away, Makoto pours out his heart to Sousuke, tears glistening in his eyes.

“I don’t know what it is about you Sousuke-kun, but I find myself unable to shut up. I haven’t even told Haru any of this stuff.”

Sousuke feels his heart fill up with affection for Makoto, with pride that someone had trusted him, has found him worth confiding in. The ache in his heart begins to fade, replaced by a burning bright light, shining out of Makoto’s eyes, his smile.

 

**_Yesterday’s love is my tears_ **   
**_They dry and vanish with time_**   
**_Tomorrow’s love is a refrain_**   
**_Words without end_**   
**_If we meet at twilight_**   
**_Will you hold me in your arms?_**

 

Before they part, Sousuke asks if he can see Makoto again. Makoto smiles, properly, with his eyes, and nods at him. For the first time in years, Sousuke Yamazaki finds himself contemplating the promise of his future- the phantoms of his past begin to fade in the wake of Makoto’s all-encompassing smile, as bright as the sun. Reflecting it, his eyes begin to glow, shifting from blue to green- he is no longer haunted.


End file.
